Tag: behavior

The most difficult aspect of personality development is detaching oneself from the bonds that are formed as a result of the positive impact of certain discoveries. There comes a time when, having already fulfilled their uplifting function, they cease to contribute. It is then necessary to let go of the habit that arose from them; it is necessary to replace it with one more in line with one’s current state. This cannot be done without some discomfort; failing to do so, however, leads to stagnation.

The most common mistake made by these modern advisors is the tendency to turn a habit recognized as healthy into a universal recommendation. From psychology to medicine, the excellent professional is the one who can best adapt to the individual circumstances he encounters. This means that, no matter how qualified he may be, or how much theory and case experience he brings to the table, the effectiveness of his work will depend above all on the sensitivity and ingenuity with which he adapts his repertoire to the needs of the person he is guiding. In other words, it is a task that almost always involves more understanding of a unique and new situation than applying a standard protocol.

To a certain extent, one does not choose the feelings that will arise in relation to one’s environment, because one does not choose the circumstances into which one is born, nor does one choose most of the defining events that the environment will produce over the course of a lifetime. Thus, affection and aversion, patriotism and anti-patriotism, a sense of belonging and alienation arise naturally. But all these feelings, if not understood, bear poor fruit. A conscious effort is needed to always relate them to the personal transformations one experiences, viewing them as the extremely important catalysts that they are. Such transformations sometimes run counter to the nature of that initial feeling; but they all teach something, and one must cultivate a positive attitude toward them all.

Someone who has spent his entire life in the city may not be able to leave it, except through a traumatic and uncomfortable process. Curiously, it is there that he feels safe; it is there that he experiences the sense of normalcy to which he has grown accustomed. If someone were to tell him, however, he would not believe it: one must experience firsthand the numbness to which his senses have been subjected over the years. And that is only possible in an environment far removed from his beloved city. It brings to mind those old chronicles of Europeans who, walking with indigenous people in the jungle, were amazed by their almost supernatural sense of smell—which, in truth, consisted of a much more refined attention to the senses, and which, through the senses, demonstrated to the European the truth of their intuition. This raises the question of just how far extend the consequences of this evident urban inattention.